An Inventory of Parks and Wildlife Department's Executive
Director's Files as a Member of the Texas Antiquities Committee at the Texas
State Archives,
1963-1964,
1969-1980, bulk 1969-1980

Parks and Wildlife
Department's executive director's files as a member of the Texas Antiquities
Committee

Dates:

1963-1964, 1969-1980

Dates:

bulk
1969-1980

Abstract:

The Texas Antiquities
Committee was the legal custodian of all state archaeological resources and it
adopted rules to protect and preserve these resources. The executive director
of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) was a statutory member of the
Antiquities Committee. These records reflect the involvement of the TPWD
executive director or his "proxy" with the
Antiquities Committee. Types of records present include minutes, agenda,
meeting files, correspondence, memoranda, rules and regulations, reports,
papers, notes, legislation, press releases, and clippings, dating 1963-1964,
1969-1980, bulk dating 1969-1980. Topics covered include the formation of the
Texas Antiquities Committee, requests for and status of antiquities permits,
changes in or additions to antiquities laws, underwater archaeology rules and
regulations and projects, shipwreck salvage, field work and/or research
undertaken by TAC staff, significant archaeological discoveries, nominations
for state archeological landmark status, requests to remove archeological
landmark status, a litigation case against TAC over its denial of a destruction
permit for buildings at El Centro College in Dallas, and the Governor's
Conference on Antiquities.

The Parks and Wildlife Department is responsible for the management
and conservation of the state's wildlife and fish resources; provision of
outdoor recreational opportunities to the public; acquisition, development, and
operation of wildlife management areas, fish hatcheries, state parks, historic
sites, and other public lands; conservation education and outreach; cultural
and historical interpretation; and the regulation of fishing, hunting, and
boating activities. The Department is composed of ten major divisions which
carry out the functions and duties of the agency: Wildlife, State Parks,
Coastal Fisheries, Inland Fisheries, Communications, Law Enforcement,
Infrastructure, Administrative Resources, Legal, Information Technology, and
Human Resources. An Executive Director, selected by the Parks and Wildlife
Commission, administers the department. In 2005, the agency employed the
full-time equivalent of 3,038 people.

The Parks and Wildlife Department is governed by the Parks and
Wildlife Commission, initially composed of three members (1963), increased to
six members in 1972, and as of 1983, nine members, appointed by the Governor
with approval of the Senate. Members serve six-year overlapping terms. The
Commission chairperson is appointed biennially by the Governor. The Commission
meets quarterly or more often as needed. Its chief responsibility is to adopt
policies and rules to carry out the programs of the Parks and Wildlife
Department.

A more comprehensive agency history can be found in the overall
finding aid to the
Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department records. If you are reading this in paper in
the Archives search room, the finding aid, Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department records, is found in the first divider within
the same binder.

The Texas Antiquities Committee was created by Senate Bill 58, 61st
Legislature, 2nd Called Session (1969). The Committee was the legal custodian
of all state archaeological resources and it adopted rules to protect and
preserve these resources. It designated state archaeological landmarks, issued
permits for activities that impacted archeological sites, oversaw staff efforts
to ensure compliance with the Texas Antiquities Code, maintained an inventory
of items recovered and retained by the State of Texas, and contracted or
otherwise provided for discovery operations and scientific investigations of
sunken or abandoned ships and their contents. In 1995, the committee was
abolished (Senate Bill 365, 74th Legislature, Regular Session). Its duties were
absorbed by the Texas Historical Commission and are carried out through its
Archeology Division. The legislation that abolished the Antiquities Committee
allowed for an advisory body to be created to assist the Texas Historical
Commission on issues relating to the Antiquities Code of Texas. In 1995 the
Historical Commission created the Texas Antiquities Advisory Board. The Board
provides recommendations on proposed State Archeological Landmarks designations
and assists in resolving disputes regarding issuance of Texas Antiquities
permits.

The Antiquities Committee was initially composed of seven members:
Director of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee, Director of Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department, Commissioner of the General Land Office, State
Archeologist (whose office was transferred in 1969 from the State Building
Commission to the Texas State Historical Survey Committee), one professional
archeologist from a recognized museum or institution of higher learning, one
professional Texas historian, and the Director of the Texas Memorial Museum of
the University of Texas. The makeup of the Committee when it expired in 1995
was a nine-member commission. It consisted of six ex-officio members - the
chair of the Texas Historical Commission or his/her designee, the State
Archeologist, the Director of the Parks and Wildlife Department, the
Commissioner of the General Land Office, the State Engineer, and the Executive
Director of the Texas Department of Water Resources. The three other members
were appointed by the Governor with concurrence of the Senate, for two-year
terms and consisted of a professional historian, a professional archaeologist,
and a professional museum director.

The Texas Antiquities Committee (TAC) was the legal custodian of all
state archaeological resources and it adopted rules to protect and preserve
these resources. The executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department (TPWD) was a statutory member of the Antiquities Committee. These
records reflect the involvement of the TPWD executive director or his
" proxy" with the Antiquities Committee. Types
of records present include minutes, agenda, meeting files, correspondence,
memoranda, rules and regulations, reports, papers, notes, legislation, press
releases, and clippings, dating 1963-1964, 1969-1980, bulk dating 1969-1980.
Topics covered include the formation of the Texas Antiquities Committee,
requests for and status of antiquities permits, changes in or additions to
antiquities laws, budget and financial status of the committee, underwater
archaeology rules and regulations and projects, shipwreck salvage, field work
and/or research undertaken by TAC staff, significant archaeological
discoveries, nominations for state archeological landmark status, requests to
remove archeological landmark status, a litigation case against TAC over its
denial of a destruction permit for buildings at El Centro College in Dallas,
and the Governor's Conference on Antiquities. Correspondents include TPWD
staff, TAC chairmen and staff, the governor's office, state and federal
agencies, legislators, and others. Most of the materials in the files are
copies of items sent to TAC members. There is some original correspondence with
the TWPD members, most during the era that J.R. Singleton or James Cross served
on the committee. TPWD executive directors serving on this committee (during
the period covered by these records) were J.R. (Bob) Singleton (1969-1971),
James Cross (1971-1972), Clayton T. Garrison (1973-1977), Henry Burkett
(1977-1978), and Charles Travis (1979-1990). Beginning in the early 1970s, the
TPWD executive directors at times used a proxy to handle their TAC business,
generally Orion Knox, Director of the Historic Sites and Restoration Branch.

There is a small amount of material in the correspondence files
(letters, memos, reports) for 1971-1972 that do not appear to be TAC files, but
are interfiled with the TAC materials. James Cross, during this period, served
on the Planning Committee for the Colorado River Basin Water Quality Management
Study and some files reflect his involvement with that committee. Other files
concern waste control orders of the Texas Water Development Board, fisheries
research, TPWD projects with the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, and an
interagency contract with the Texas Highway Department to build a bridge across
the bay between Corpus Christi and Mustang Island.

There are also archeology-related files from 1963 to 1964 concerning
the attempt by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and other groups to
national monument status for the Alibates Flint Quarries and Pueblo cultural
sites in the Texas Panhandle. Correspondence is present with the Potter County
Historical Society, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Smithsonian, and
others and is accompanied by clippings and reports. The Alibates Flint Quarries
and Pueblo sites were given national monument status by the U.S. Congress in
1965 and are managed by the National Park Service. The quarries and cultural
sites are located in the Lake Meredith Recreation Area.

This series was removed from the overall TPWD finding aid due to the
electronic file size limitations imposed by the online finding aid web site
(TARO). If you are reading this electronically, click on the following link to
access the overall finding aid,
Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department records. If you are reading this in paper in
the Archives search room, the finding aid, Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department records, is found in the first divider within
the same binder.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily
reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to
provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

Arrangement of the Records

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and
may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received
by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The
researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17
U.S.C.).

Alibates Flint Quarries and the Texas
Panhandle Pueblo Culture, prepared for Governor John Connally, 1963,
fractional. [This is single item is unprocessed, AC 2006/063, see staff for
more information.]

Southwest Collection, Texas Tech
University

These are the records of Governor Preston
Smith. There are likely related files from or concerning the Governor's Office
on Antiquities and the formation of the Texas Antiquities Committee.

(Identify the item), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's executive
director's files as a member of the Texas Antiquities Committee. Archives and
Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.